Freehold Man Sentenced After Killing Four Puppies In Howell

FREEHOLD, NJ - A Freehold man was sentenced last week to to five years in state prison on charges of animal cruelty after admitting last year his neglect caused the deaths of four German Shepard puppies in his care, authorities said.

Daniel McDonald, 26, was sentenced by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Vincent N. Falcetano, Jr on Feb. 12 to a five-year concurrent sentence in a New Jersey state prison for four third degree animal cruelty charges and one charge of third degree receiving stolen property for being possession of a stolen tractor out of Monroe Township.

As part of a plea agreement made in November, McDonald entered into a consent order agreeing never to own, live with or take into his care any living animal.

McDonald was also ordered to perform 30 hours of community service on each of the four animal cruelty counts and to pay $800 in restitution to the owner of the puppies. The sentence is also concurrent to pending charges in Bergen and Middlesex counties.

Judge Falcetano also ordered McDonald not to have contact with the victims, not to have contact with two witnesses, and not to return to the scenes where the puppies were stolen from in Franklin Township and killed in Howell Township. He also ordered him not to return to the scene where the tractor was stolen in Monroe.

In May 2020, investigators found the remains of two German Shepherd puppies in a fire pit on a Howell property where McDonald was temporarily residing. The Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals Law Enforcement Division and the Howell Township Police Department conducted a subsequent investigation, which led to the discovery of two more deceased pups buried on the property.

The investigation ultimately revealed that the puppies were stolen from a farm in Somerset County on or about May 12, when the puppies were only three weeks old. Investigators learned McDonald and his co-defendant, girlfriend Tricia Jaccoma were staying at the Somerset County farm prior to the time the puppies went missing and were in possession of the puppies while residing in a camper on the property in Howell. Based on McDonald's statements, the charges against Jaccoma were dismissed at McDonald’s sentencing.

Investigators learned the puppies were ill, in distress, and were struggling to breathe prior to their deaths. A necropsy performed on the two buried puppies revealed the puppies suffered from parasites and were severely emaciated and malnourished with “no indications of recent nutritional ingestion," according to the prosecutor's office.

McDonald took full responsibility for not getting the puppies the proper care, according to the prosecutor's office.

At the sentencing, Judge Falcetano told McDonald he “can’t conceive of any more depraved act.”